Chapter Text
The car ride back to the cottage had gone incredibly fast, but it still felt like an eternity. Shane drove the car quickly into the driveway and hurriedly put it into park, the sudden absence of momentum causing Ilya and him to jerk forward in their seats. However, it went mostly unnoticed as they unbuckled themselves and ran out of the car to fully hug each other.
It had only been a ten minute drive, and they had been holding hands the whole time, but it was so surreal. Neither of them could believe that this was happening. Shane thought he'd be fine waiting another ten years or so, playing hockey and running the charity camp during summer, eventually making things official with Ilya when they were hopefully no longer interesting tabloid subjects, but he was so wrong. He felt as though, even with just his parents knowing, a weight was taken off of his shoulders. What made him happier, if that was even possible, was that Ilya was his boyfriend now. Officially. Not just some guy he fucked after hockey games. He was Ilya's boyfriend. Despite the fact that Shane didn't really want to go public with their relationship just yet, the thought of introducing Ilya as his boyfriend made him feel giddy. And, what was even better was that Ilya would be introducing Shane as his boyfriend.
Ilya and Shane hugged for a solid minute, swaying slightly and listening to the sound of gentle waves lapping behind the cottage. Ilya used his height advantage to gently kiss the top of Shane's head before pulling back to look into his eyes, which were shiny with tears.
"Shane?" Ilya asked, worry evident in his voice, "What's wrong?" He lifted a finger to gently brush off a tear that had fallen from Shane's eye.
Shane laughed lightly. "Nothing's wrong. I just love you so fucking much."
"I love you, too." Ilya pulled him back into a tight embrace again. "Want to go inside?"
Shane took in a shaky breath. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good." The sun was setting soon, and a chill had settled in.
The keys easily slid into the keyhole and the door opened, revealing the cottage to be just as they had left it hours earlier. They both took off their shoes and hugged again.
"So. . . What do you want to do?" Ilya mumbled into Shane's hair.
Shane looked up at him. "Honestly? I just wanna be with you. Bedroom?"
"Of course."
Shane shrieked as Ilya picked him up into a bridal-style carry. "Ilya! What the fuck?"
"What?" Ilya stopped briefly outside of Shane's (well, now it was really both of theirs) bedroom, "I am preparing for our wedding."
Shane's eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "What wedding? I didn't-"
"Shh, Hollander. I am just joking." Ilya gently placed Shane on the bed before crawling on top of him.
Shane smiled. "Come here."
"No, you come here."
"No, you come here."
"No, you-" Ilya was cut off by Shane pulling him down by his t-shirt. Ilya hadn't expected the sudden motion, and his lips crashed down hard on Shane's, causing them both to giggle. Now that Ilya was lower, he was able to kiss Shane gently.
Ilya pulled back to admire his boyfriend. It was the golden hour, and the evening light on Shane's face made him seem to be glowing. His eyes became several shades lighter and his freckles stood out brilliantly. Shane smiled, the corners of his eyes creasing. It wasn't the rehearsed smile he always gave for interviews and public appearances, it was a genuine grin that he couldn't hold back.
"You look beautiful." Ilya said, leaning back down to Shane's face.
"What are you doing?" Shane giggled, "Ilya!"
"I am kissing your freckles, Shane," Ilya replied, punctuating each word with a kiss below Shane's eyes.
A loud phone call interrupted them, causing them both to jump.
"Fuck," Shane groaned, reaching over to his nightstand to grab his phone from where it had been charging since the morning. "It's Hayden."
"So?" Ilya adjusted himself so he could keep kissing Shane's face. "Do not answer. He will be fine." He stopped kissing for a moment, pulling back with an evil grin on his face. "Or, you could answer it and I could. . ." He made a crude motion with his hips, pretending to fuck Shane.
"Ilya! I'm not going to answer him right now." Shane pulled him back down to his lips, kissing him gently. "I just. . ." Shane searched for the right words. "I just want to be with you right now. No sex."
Ilya sensed from his tone that he wasn't joking. "Ah. Okay, then." He reached over Shane's arms, declined Hayden's call, and set his phone to Do Not Disturb. Shane set his phone back on the nightstand and rolled over to face Ilya.
"Is this a dream?" He asked.
Ilya smiled. "No. Is very real."
"Can you say it again?"
Ilya didn't know what exactly Shane meant by that, so he took a few guesses while tracing his fingertips lightly over Shane's biceps. "I love you. You love me. We are boyfriends. Is very real."
Shane grinned and Ilya kissed him. It was like heaven. If Ilya had been asked five years ago what his favorite thing he'd done in bed with Shane was, he probably would've said fucking him. Now, he'd say kissing him while he smiled. Yes, it wasn't "in bed" in the sense the question probably meant, but it still counted, he figured, since they were literally in a bed right now.
They fell asleep like that, unaware that they would wake up to five missed calls and three unopened texts from Hayden.